Last week we welcomed our newly appointed Google Student Ambassadors to our Sydney office and the inaugural Google Student Ambassador Summit. After putting a call out for students interested in acting as on-campus liaisons between Google and their universities, we selected 52 student ambassadors representing 23 universities across Australia and New Zealand. Ambassadors get the chance to learn about Google products and programs and organise campus events for their fellow students. Our ambassadors are a diverse bunch. Not only are they geographically scattered, but they have majors from computer science to anthropology, business and even zoology. What they all have in common is a passion for new technology, enthusiasm about Google, and deep involvement in their school communities. Desiree Kelly is currently studying Computing and Intelligent Systems and Software Development at Griffith University. Desiree wants to be an advocate for women in I.T. and has been active in helping organise Geek Girl Coffees in Brisbane.Sam Jarman, a seasoned app developer and Computer Science student at the University of Canterbury, and fellow Kiwi Julius Bennett, a finance and accounting student in Auckland, hope to raise campus awareness about the benefits of the cloud with a product like Google Docs.Desiree, Sam and Julius attended the two-day summit with their fellow ambassadors and received presentations from Googlers about Google Apps for Education, YouTube, Google Chrome, Google Maps, Google Places and Google+.

It was not all work though. There was plenty to time to socialise as they took part in Google Sydney’s weekly TGIF drinks and went on a Sydney Harbour cruise, bringing the summit to a fitting close.All our ambassadors finished the summit with lots of ideas they’ll bring back to campus. One of our ambassadors has also put together a circle on Google+. Add everyone to your own circles to follow what they’re doing on campus.